I am a Lupin assassin. Again and again, year after year, it is a long story of failure stacked high, built on the top of countless past sad failures. It seems as even if I just look at them, even with a side glance, then their sorry demise is very quick to follow. It is if I have the touch of the devil in me or the evil eye, or the powers of a sorcerer to curse any possibility of their future survival.
For many years I have had a large bed solely devoted to a trio of delphiniums, foxgloves and lupins. I thought the threesome would be great companions together, a combined mass of tall, towering blooms. Well really only the first two. The third, lupins, is a very long repetitive planting of eternal disasters.
However, being a gardener and thus a true optimist, year after year I was doggedly determined to try again. I figure one day the spell of death must be finally lifted.
But those days are gone. Early last summer I vowed to myself to give lupins up for good. No more unnecessary deaths, no more heartache, no more failures. It’s over, its finished, goodbye lupins, begone.
Then five months ago in mid-summer, a dear friend of mine gifted me three very healthy potted lupins grown lovingly from seed. I promptly told her that I kill them, but she was insistent in her charming lady like way. They were a present proffered with love, how could I resist. I remember they lasted about 10 days. Yep, history repeats itself. Yet again I declared no more lupins for me.
A few months later in early autumn my friend arrived with another 3 more new plants. I practically begged her, no, not for me, give them to another who is more deserving of them. She replied, ‘No these are for you, I know you can do it’. With great reluctance I accepted the gift.
What to do? How am I do undo the curse of repeated murders? Immediately I knew I had to start afresh, a new strategy. First it was the soil. Second their position and location and third the level of care.
Six short weeks have passed and unbelievably as a blessed miracle they have all quadrupled in size and two actually have flowers, one with shades of hot and powder puff pink and the other in royal purples and white. I had finally triumphed. In my whole life these were the very first lupin flowers I had ever grown. I was in the throes of pure ecstasy.
With my newfound success my enthusiasm and confidence was soaring. I wanted more, many more and on a far grander scale. However, my new dedicated lupin area is very finite in space, barely 1m x 1m, being tucked in between long established more mature plants. Where can I find another perfect location for them? In the short term I couldn’t. Then I decided not to be too greedy and be humbly satisfied with each of my three great plants. It was early days, and I should be patient and wait to see if my success would continue throughout the entirety of another full year. For there was always the certainty of a long hot burning summer to come. Here’s hoping. I shall keep you posted.
To read how I improved the conditions for the successful planting of Lupins please see my next blog to be released in a weeks time.
Happy gardening and have fun,
Regards Ned McDowell